Modeling the Delivery Physiology of Distributed Learning Systems
Gilbert Paquette and Ioan Rosca
This article presents a new development of the MISA instructional engineering method and its web-based support system, ADISA. Delivery models are important because they represent the actors, their operations and interactions and the resources they use or produce for other actors when the system will be in operation. Without sufficient planning, distributed learning systems will generally present high levels of technical and organizational noise that are an obstacle to learning. We will present a modeling technique that aims to solve these problems. We will show that this technique allows us to represent the learning system at a global level, modeling distance learning paradigms such as distributed classrooms, self-Training on the Web, online training, communities of practice, as well as performance support systems. At a lower level, we model functions within the learning system (physiologies of the organism) such as competency management, learning assessment, resource or collaboration management. Finally, we discuss the role of delivery and function models in the aggregation of learning objects. The approach is proposed as way to go beyond the actual learning objects paradigms for which international metadata standards have been developed.